Kevin Nowotny played four years of
baseball for BHSU from 1977 to 1980 during which time he was a member of
four consecutive conference championship teams from 1977-80, two
District 12 championship teams in 1979 and 1980, and two NAIA area
tournament appearances in 1979 and 1980. He was selected South Dakota
Iowa-Conference (SDIC) all-conference four years, all-District 12 his
sophomore, junior and senior years, and earned honorable mention
all-American in 1979. His career batting average at BHSU was .408, which
equals 215 hits in 526 at bats. Career highs for Kevin were 61 hits and
58 RBI’s in one season, and he held for a while the career home run
record at BHSU with 19. In 1980 he became the first winner of the Cliff
Papik Scholarship.

J. Ewer

During her career at BHSU, Jylann Ewer
lettered one year in basketball and claimed the “Hustler” award, but
she excelled in track and field.

Jylann competed in indoor track for
two years in which she was the District 12 champion in the long and
triple jumps and holds the BHSU indoor long jump record with an
18’3” jump. She also ranks in the all-time BHSU top 10 performances
in the 55-meter hurdles, high jump and triple jump.

Her outdoor track and field career
consisted of being a member of the four-time champion SDIC team and
being a three-time SDIC Outstanding Female Athlete. She won individual
SDIC championships in the long jump four years, triple jump four years,
100-meter hurdles, and high jump. She was also a member of the winning
4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays.

Jylann holds top 10 performances in
school history in the 100-meter dash (12.84), javelin and 400-meter
relay (50.64). She was named the Corn Palace Relays MVP, as well as
District 12 champion in the long jump, triple jump, 100-meter hurdles
and heptathalon. In addition to the five school records she set and
still holds in the 100-meter hurdles (14.7 sec.), long jump (19’¼”),
triple jump (37’8”), high jump (5’6”), and heptathalon (4,374),
Jylann was a four-time all-American with her best performance at the
national track meet placing sixth in the long jump. She also holds the
longest women’s collegiate jump in the state in the long jump.

One of her most memorable performances
was at the conference meet in 1992 where she competed in 10 events,
placed in nine, and was just out of the running for her 10th
with a seventh place finish in the shot put.

T. Olson

Tom Olson competed in football,
basketball, and track and field during his 1976-80 college career at
BHSU. An almost unheard of achievement, he earned 11 letters in three
different sports. In football, Tom played defensive end, tight end and
offensive tackle during his four years on the gridiron. He was honorable
mention all-SDIC his senior year at offensive tackle.

In basketball Tom scored a career high
29 points his junior year in a victory over archrival South Dakota Tech.
As a junior, he ranked 14th in scoring, averaging 12.3 points
and seven rebounds per game. As a senior he was named first team all-SDIC,
averaging 9.2 rebounds and 12 points per game.

In track and field, Tom jumped a
personal best 6’8” in the high jump, winning the District XII NAIA
high jump competition and helping the Jackets win the District XII meet.
He also qualified for the national meet in 1980.

D. Little

Dave Little began his collegiate
coaching and teaching career at BHSU in 1968 and soon established
himself as one of the state’s most successful collegiate track and
field and cross country coaches. His name became synonymous with winning
SDIC cross country and track titles - 17 cross country titles and 30
track and field titles in men’s and women’s competition during his
tenure as a Yellow Jacket head coach.

Dave’s success was not just limited
to the field of competition as he was twice selected as teacher of the
year by the BHSU student senate. He also served as the university’s
athletic director from 1986 to 1990 and again from 1996 to 2002.

Although he was successful as a
teacher and administrator, it is coaching where his legacy will probably
rest. During the 70s and early 80s his men’s teams dominated the
league by winning 12 consecutive titles in both cross country and track
and field.

For his coaching accomplishments, Dave
was named NAIA District 12 coach of the year 14 times, South Dakota
Sports Writer’s coach of the year once, and women’s SDIC coach of
the year. He also served a two-year term (1984-86) as president of NAIA
executive committee on cross country.

M. Kennedy

Myles Kennedy has been president of
the Yellow Jacket Foundation and the Green and Gold Booster Club since
1999. Since then the club has raised over three quarters of a million
dollars for athletic scholarships at BHSU under Myles’ leadership.
Scholarships to student athletes have nearly doubled in this short
period of time.

Myles has also purchased shirts for
the cross country and volleyball teams, travel bags for the basketball
teams and has been know to provide watermelon to the football team and
spaghetti and lasagna feeds to the volleyball and cross country teams.
He is known as the “brat man” as he often cooks the bratwurst at the
pre-game tailgate parties for home football games. He also donates money
to benefit student athlete scholarships.